The school-based intervention for ADHD will be delivered via a randomized controlled trial to 50 teachers in two school boards in Nova Scotia. Interested schools will indentify one teacher per school who has a student with ADHD in grades 1-6 to participate. Once eligibility is determined and consent provided, teacher-student dyads will be randomized to active treatment or a waitlist control group. Outcome measures will be collected after the treatment implementation (at 3 months) and at follow-up (6 months). The measures will assess for changes in : 1) teacher reports of child functioning in academic, social and behavioural areas; 2) parent perception of their child’s functioning at school; and 3) teacher knowledge and attitudes. We will also evaluate the fidelity of the program implementation and teacher and parent satisfaction with the intervention. The study will address the following questions:
- Is the school-based intervention effective in reducing ADHD symptoms, improving behavioral functioning, and enhancing academic performance, homework completion, and social relationships in the active treatment group compared to the waitlist group?
- Does the overall impairment of children with ADHD in the treatment group improve compared to those who are in the waitlist group?
- Do teachers in the treatment group have more knowledge about ADHD and more positive and realistic attitudes about this disorder?
- Is the intervention viewed as accessible to teachers and is there evidence of fidelity to the program?
The Team:
| Investigators | Research Staff |
|---|---|
| Nezihe Elik | |
| Penny Corkum | |
| Patrick McGrath | |
| Stan Kutcher |